Population Crisis looms

Japan-watchers have long known that the Land of the Rising Sun has been having a bit of trouble in the bedroom. But now, the Huffington Post and the BBC have prepared new reports that quote some downright shocking figures: a third of Japanese youth have no interest in sex and relationships.

Wow. That's A LOT of disinterest!

Even worse, the Huffington Post quotes a new survey conducted by the Japan Family Planning Association which found that “36% of males aged 16 to 19 said that they had 'no interest' in or even 'despised' sex. That's almost a 19% increase since the survey was last conducted in 2008.”

“If that's not bad enough, The Wall Street Journal reports that a whopping 59% of female respondents aged 16 to 19 said they were uninterested in or averse to sex, a near 12% increase since 2008.”

Japanese girls: "uninterested in or averse to sex". Um, okay...

Numbers like that spell disaster for the future of Japan and its rapidly-aging population. The big question: Who is going to take care of all the old people if a new generation of young people aren’t around to support and mop up after them?

The answer is: no one! Associated Press claims that the entire population of Japan will have been reduced by one-third by the year 2060, by which point 40 percent of everyone you meet there will be old, elderly, ancient.

Well, at least we have color now. Image via Japan Probe.

Now, let's play the blame game. The Huffington Post and other sources point the finger at weak men, AKA soushoku danshi("herbivore men"), who supposedly lack the rugged manly attributes of their hot blooded macho forefathers...but often have really nice hairdos and know great cafes. LOVE ISN'T EASY, and many guys are now avoiding it because they don't want to play the game, it's troublesome, etc.

That guy who married his Love Plus virtual girlfriend. Virtual offspring not available for comment.

And...there’s no small amount of blame being placed on Japanese youth who spend “too much time engaged with technology, living in virtual worlds or settling for virtual girlfriends rather than real ones." The media in Japan periodically loves to blame otaku for some such other offense, so why not people not getting it on?

Either way, here's a recent BBC video report based on the same findings. Watch it and weep for the future of Japan or just cuddle up to someone close to you and thank your lucky stars.